Forgievness
by Nightshade1989
Summary: After being spurned by Danny, Sawyer makes a life for herself by teaching the stars to dance. But can she ever forgive him for what he did?
1. Forgiveness Version 2

Writers note: Due to the fact that this is based on a kids movie, I decided the contents of the story should not have anything other than kid friendly contents. So, I cleaned it up a bit. The alcohol and other references to the middle story (which was not added for the precise reason that I edited this one) have been cleared up. Well, the references are still there, but the alcohol was gotten rid of for obvious reasons. However, I'm not going to delete the first version of the story. Some people may like that version over this one. Thank you and enjoy.

Forgiveness

The TV cast an eerie glow around the small room. The walls were covered in old newspaper articles, and awards of all kinds. Some of the articles had tiles like "Danny becomes the richest animal in the U.S.!" or "The Kitty Dance Academy girls blow audiences away!" The awards had titles such as "Best Dance school of 1945" and, "Best female lead character".

The clutter on the walls had no particular order to them at all. The shelves of the room were covered in old trophies and awards too. But around the TV was a collection of articles of the same subject, or cat. The articles all had to do with Danny, the "Song and dance cat", as he liked to call himself. The articles followed every advancement he made. No matter how small, it was included.

The TV was playing a recording of Danny's greatest honor, his foot, and handprints being imbedded forever in concrete before Grauman's Chinese Theater. Miss Meow can be seen in the background looking just as proud as a mother or as if it were her feet and hands being saved there. The paparazzi taking photos and buzzing around the place like flies around a fresh corpse.

Sawyer sat in front of the TV watching Danny's induction. She had been invited of course, but she had turned down the invitation. She never enjoyed going to the parties, they dredged up to many painful memories. She instead opted to record it. That was a few days ago, today, was something different

Today Danny's celebration party was being held. Celebrating what? Why, his feet being embedded in front of the Theater of course! It was not going to be a very formal affair; just involving those directly associated with Danny and the film that had pushed him over the top.

Several of Sawyer star pupils were amongst those invited, so Sawyer had been given a perfunctory invitation too. Sawyer in her days had been given dozens of these invitations, but she had never attended any of them, and that wasn't going to change for this one. Even though she was the one who had taught the girls to dance, it would only be the dancers that got the attention, not her. She learned this while she still taught on location, it was the stars, not her, who was given the attention, so it would have been pointless and maddening if she went.

She did get her claim to fame every once in a while though. With all the talent coming out of her school, she was constantly winning awards. If you wanted a good dancer, or if you wanted your actress to learn to dance, her school was the place to go. For the past 5 years her school was the most prestigious in Hollywood.

The day dragged on for what seemed an eternity to Sawyer. Just because she had one of the best schools, doesn't mean she got the best students. There were always new students coming in and expecting Sawyer to be able to teach them instantly to dance. Some of the girls just didn't have the ability to time the steps right, nor were they graceful in any stretch of the imagination, they just could do it. It was highly stressful to have to deal with them all.

Finally the day was done, she only taught two to three classes per day that lasted about two hours a piece. The classes started in the mornings some days and in the afternoon others; it really depended on when she felt like teaching. The last of the students left the class and she was alone.

Sawyer was about to go back to her office when she caught sight of her in the mirrors on the wall. She didn't normally look carefully in the mirror. She would only use one to find loose strands of fur on her head and straighten it out. But what she saw frightened her.

She was only about 35, but she looked like she was in her late 40's. Bags had started bunching under her eyes, giving her a tired look. Lines from stress and other problems creased her face. Gray streaks of fur appeared in various locations. Her tail seemed to drag on the ground as if she had no energy to hold it up. Her ears drooped and had nicks in them. In about only ten years, she had appeared to age twenty.

The cat she saw in the mirror was a stranger to her. It seemed to be a shell of her former self. And yet, this cat looked as tired as she felt. This wasn't the cat that sang and danced with Danny in movies. This wasn't the cat that took a picnic with Danny and accidentally crashed his car. This was an old and worn out cat who had seen much and dealt and was still was dealing with too much.

Even after her return to Hollywood, Sawyer had never came face to face with Danny. She had never attempted to contact him, or see him. She spent her time avoiding him at all costs. Danny however had done the exact opposite and had pursued her relentlessly, till she asked him to stop.

She had been flattered that he had pursued her, but she didn't have what it took to see him, not yet. Even after all those years, she still felt a slight resentment towards him. What he did still left a sour taste in her mouth, enough to make her prolong meeting him. Danny from time to time would attempt to see her, but it would fail every time.

She left the office and walked into the dance hall. Looking around the room memories of her past in came back in a flash. She had spent years in schools just like this honing her skills. Even after starting her career she had to spend many long hours in school like this. She had stopped practicing after being hired by Farley, so she had to practice.

Suddenly, she felt the urge to dance. It came so suddenly and so urgently she couldn't deny it. Turing on a record, she slowly started to dance. Her movements were a bit jerky at first, but soon flowed fluidly. As the familiarity of it slowly came back, the defter her movements became. Within a moment she was into the music with gusto, and it seemed to take control of her body. It was like it was the flow of the music that controlled her spins, or leaps.

She blew through the movements with speed and agility she had long forgotten she possessed. With her newfound energy she continued her dance with a frenzy of complicated steps and moves. The music and her dancing seemed to rejuvenate her body. Her limbs lost their weight, and her heart began to soar.

The music soon stopped, but Sawyer continued on. In the stead of the music there came a phantom partner. She knew her part well, and so did he. They moved together almost as one being. Neither missed a beat or slipped, they knew their place too well for that.

Her dance continued on for several more minutes. The dance stopped as suddenly as it had started. Standing in the middle of the room panting, Sawyer had never felt more alive than she did. Too long had she suppressed her true nature, her ambition, what she loved. And now that it was realized again, it lifted the years off of her shoulders.

As she stood there she noticed she was not alone, her phantom partner had finally manifested itself into a solid form. There, near the entrance, stood Danny. His eyes were wide with awe. Never before had he seen Sawyer's full abilities. He had entered just as she was getting back into her rhythm, she looked so focused that he decided not to interrupt her. It was well worth it.

Danny shook himself as though he was coming out of a trance. Without saying 'hello', 'hi' or anything else, he crossed the room and hugged her. Sawyer was caught completely off guard. She just stood there in total amazement. Danny hugged her all the more tightly as he said, "I am so sorry for what I did all those years ago. I let my ambitions get the better of me. I shouldn't have ever said yes."

All resentments that might have lain dormant in Sawyer evaporated instantly. It was the last and final weight being pushed off of her. Finally, after so many years, she felt completely content and happy.


	2. Forgiveness Version 1

Forgiveness

Forgiveness

The TV cast an eerie glow around the small room. The walls were covered in old newspaper articles, and awards of all kinds. Some of the articles had tiles like "Danny becomes the richest animal in the U.S.!" or "The Kitty Dance Academy girls blow audiences away!" The awards had titles such as "Best Dance school of 1945" and, "Best female lead character".

The clutter on the walls had no particular order to them at all. The shelves of the room were covered in old trophies and awards too. But around the TV was a collection of articles of the same subject, or cat. The articles all had to do with Danny, the "Song and dance cat", as he liked to call himself. The articles followed every advancement he made. No matter how small, it was included.

The TV was playing a recording of Danny's greatest honor, his foot, and handprints being imbedded forever in concrete before Grauman's Chinese Theater. Miss Meow can be seen in the background looking just as proud as a mother or as if it were her feet and hands being saved there. The paparazzi taking photos and buzzing around the place like flies around a fresh corpse.

Sawyer Cat sits in the chair in front of the TV. As Danny stands up and is congratulated by the mob of people around him Sawyer raises the glass of champagne and says, "Cheers." then downs the drink. She would have preferred brandy, but it didn't seem appropriate for the "event".

It was a bad habit of hers that kept coming back when she felt depressed. I good stiff drink always seemed to set her straight. Not the womanliest thing to do, but it helped her. The film stopped and Sawyer sighed and put away the glass after cleaning it out with a napkin and hid the bottle in a closet near her desk.

Sawyer knew it wasn't a good idea to start her day off with alcohol, especially when she had to teach classes. But she didn't let that dictate her; it was only one glass anyway. It wasn't like she actually DANCED herself, so what did it matter? But it was a special day, and it put her in one of those moods.

Today Danny's celebration party was being held. Celebrating what? Why, his feet being embedded in front of the Theater of course! It was not going to be a very formal affair; just involving those directly associated with Danny and the film that had pushed him over the top.

Several of Sawyer star pupils were amongst those invited, so Sawyer had been given a perfunctory invitation too. Sawyer in her days had been given dozens of these invitations, but she had never attended any of them, and that wasn't going to change for this one. Even though she was the one who had taught the girls to dance, it would only be the dancers that got the attention, not her. She learned this while she still taught on location, it was the stars, not her, who was given the attention, so it would have been pointless and maddening if she went. All that would come of it would be her ending her evening with a bottle.

She did get her claim to fame every once in a while though. With all the talent coming out of her school, she was constantly winning awards. If you wanted a good dancer, or if you wanted your actress to learn to dance, her school was the place to go. For the past 5 years her school was the most prestigious in Hollywood.

The day dragged on for what seemed an eternity to Sawyer. Just because she had one of the best schools, doesn't mean she got the best students. There were always new students coming in and expecting Sawyer to be able to teach them instantly to dance. Some of the girls just didn't have the ability to time the steps right, nor were they graceful in any stretch of the imagination, they just could do it. It was highly stressful to have to deal with them all.

Finally the day was done, she only taught two to three classes per day that lasted about two hours a piece. The classes started in the mornings some days and in the afternoon others; it really depended on when she felt like teaching. The last of the students left the class and she was alone.

Sawyer was about to go back to her office when she caught sight of her in the mirrors on the wall. She didn't normally look carefully in the mirror. She would only use one to find loose strands of fur on her head and straighten it out. But what she saw frightened her.

She was only about 35, but she looked like she was in her late 40's. Bags had started bunching under her eyes, giving her a tired look. Lines from stress and other problems creased her face. Gray streaks of fur appeared in various locations. Her tail seemed to drag on the ground as if she had no energy to hold it up. Her ears drooped and had nicks in them. In about only ten years, she had appeared to age twenty.

The cat she saw in the mirror was a stranger to her. It seemed to be a shell of her former self. And yet, this cat looked as tired as she felt. This wasn't the cat that sang and danced with Danny in movies. This wasn't the cat that took a picnic with Danny and accidentally crashed his car. This was an old and worn out cat who had seen much and dealt and was still was dealing with too much.

Even after her return to Hollywood, Sawyer had never came face to face with Danny. She had never attempted to contact him, or see him. She spent her time avoiding him at all costs. Danny however had done the exact opposite and had pursued her relentlessly, till she left a note asking him to stop.

She had been flattered that he had pursued her, but she didn't have what it took to see him, not yet. Even after all those years, she still felt a slight resentment towards him. What he did still left a sour taste in her mouth, enough to make her prolong meeting him. Danny from time to time would attempt to see her, but it would fail every time.

Suddenly, she felt the urge to dance. It came so suddenly and so urgently she could deny it. Turing on a record, she slowly started to dance. Her movements were a bit jerky at first, but soon flowed fluidly. As the familiarity of it slowly came back, the defter her movements became. Within a moment she was into the music with gusto, it seemed to take control of her body. It was like it was the flow of the music that controlled her spins, or leaps.

She blew through the movements with speed and agility she had long forgotten she possessed. With her newfound energy she continued her dance with a frenzy of complicated steps and moves. The music and her dancing seemed to rejuvenate her body. Her limbs lost their weight, and her heart began to soar.

The music soon stopped, but Sawyer continued on. In the stead of the music there came a phantom partner. She knew her part well, and so did he. They moved together almost as one being. Neither missed a beat or slipped, they knew their place too well for that.

Her dance continued on for several more minutes. The dance stopped as suddenly as it had started. Standing in the middle of the room panting, Sawyer had never felt more alive than she did. Too long had she suppressed her true nature, her ambition, what she loved. And now that it was realized again, it lifted the years off of her shoulders.

As she stood there she noticed she was not alone, her phantom partner had finally manifested itself into a solid form. There, near the entrance, stood Danny. His eyes were wide with awe. Never before had he seen Sawyer's full abilities. He had entered just as she was getting back into her rhythm, she looked so focused that he hung back to watch. It was well worth it.

Danny shook himself as though he was coming out of a trance. Without saying 'hello', 'hi' or anything else, he crossed the room and hugged her. Sawyer was caught completely off guard. She just stood there in total amazement. Danny hugged her all the more tightly as he said, "I am so sorry for what I did all those years ago. I let my ambitions get the better of me. I shouldn't have ever said yes."

All resentments that might have lain dormant in Sawyer evaporated instantly. It was the last and final weight being pushed off of her. Finally, after so many years, she felt completely content and happy.


End file.
